Convicted of graft, Cong leader quits house post

A day after he was sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment in a corruption and disproportionate assets case, chief parliamentary secretary Sohan Singh Thandal resigned from the post on Tuesday evening.

indiaUpdated: May 04, 2011 00:01 IST

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times

A day after he was sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment in a corruption and disproportionate assets case, chief parliamentary secretary Sohan Singh Thandal resigned from the post on Tuesday evening.

CM Parkash Singh Badal has accepted his resignation, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab government.

The SAD MLA said, "I respect the verdict of the district court, but I am confident of getting a clean chit in the HC."

Earlier on Tuesday, the opposition Congress demanded Thandal's dismissal from the post of CPS as well as primary membership of the SAD.

In a press statement, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira had said that the SAD leadership should follow the parameters set by Congress president Sonia Gandhi while dealing with leaders indulging in corruption.

"Any delay in dealing with people convicted and charged with corruption will not be tolerated by our party and the people at large," Khaira said.

On Monday, in the first conviction of an MLA of the present state government, a SAS Nagar special court had found Thandal guilty in a case of criminal misconduct, corruption and disproportionate assets registered during the tenure of the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in 2003.

Special judge Rajinder Aggarwal had also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the MLA from Mahilpur.

Later, he granted Thandal interim bail and ordered suspension of the sentence till June 1 to allow the latter to challenge his conviction in the high court.